Safety device for aeroplanes



March 17, 1925. 1,530,125

E. KAYFES SAFETY DEVICE FOR AERO PLANES Filed'F'eb. '9, 1923 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Q y 3 jiffy/fies wnuess: ATTORNEY March 17,1925.1,53032'5 E. KAYFES SAFETY DEVICE'IFOR AEROPLANES Filed -Q9, 1923 .3Sheets-Sheet 2 vyrruzss: I I I ATTORNEY PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST KAYFES, OF AHMEEK, MICHIGAN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR AEROPIJANES.

Application filed. February 9,1923. Serial No. 618,070.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST KAYFRs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ahmeek, in the county of Keweenaw and State of Michigan,have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices forAeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety devices for aeroplanes, the generalobject of the invention being to provide parachutes for checking thefall of the plane if the engine should stop or some other accidenthappen which would cause the aeroplane to drop.

Another object of the invention is to provide trip means, operated bythe pilot, for releasing the parachutes when an accident happens.

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand. in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illus- In describing my invention indetail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters denote like eral views, and in which Figure 1 is a side view'of an aeroplane showing the parachutes in folded position.

Figure 2 is a view showing the parachutes as supporting the aeroplanes.

The remaining figures are detail views.

In these views 1 indicates the aeroplane which is provided with a wlell2 in which is folded a large parachute 3. This parachute is connected bythe cables 4 with the fore and aft parts of the ship, as shown at 5. Asmall parachute 6 is connected by the cable 7 with the top of the largepara/chute 3. This small arachute is normally supported in folder?position on the rear edge of the top plane 8 of the ship by means of thehook 9, which is pivoted between'the forked rear end of a bracket 10which is secured to the plane. The free end of the or correspondingparts throughout the sevhook carries a roller 11 and its pivoted part itrounded and provided with the teeth 12, these teeth being engaged by thelatch arm 13 of the lever 14 which is pivoted to the bracket 10, asshown at 15. A cable 16 has one end connected with the lever 14 and saidcable extends to a point where it can be easily graspedby the. pilot. ,Athrow lever 17 is pivoted intermediate its ends to the bracket 10 and acontractile spring 18 and an expansion spring 19 tend to hold the leverwith its forks 20 in raised position. The lever is adapted to be held inlowered position. against the action of the springs,

gage the same, by means of the gear 21 pivotally arranged on the leverL7 and adapted to be manually rotated by means of ahandle .22, and therack bar 23 which has its hooked end engaging a staple 24 on thebracket, said rack bar passing through a guide on the lever so that itcan be engaged by the gear 21.

It will thus be seen that by rotating the handle 22 the action of thegear on the rack bar will cause the lever 17 to be lowered against theaction of its springs until its forked end can be engaged by the hook 9.

.The hook 9 will be held in lowered position and in engagement. with theforked end of the lever by means of the latch arm 13 engaging its teeth12. The forked end of the lever will hold the small parachute inposition at the rear edge of the plane. If

an accident should happen which would cause the ship to drop the pilotwould pull on the cable 16, thus moving the latch arm;

13 out of engagement with the teeth .12 so that the springs 18 and 19would jerk the forked end of the lever 17 upwardly and so throw thesmall parachute upwardly and away from the plane. As soon as the smallparachute opened it would jerk the large parachute out of its well andthusthe two parachutes would act to check the fall of the ship. In thisway the ship would gradually descend to the ground without damage toitself or the occu ants.

Instead of operating the latch arm by a cable this arm may be actuatedby a system of levers 25 from a foot pedal 26 which is located at a ointwhere 1t can. be convenientlyreache by the pilot or operator.- A spring27 holds the'levers ina neutral posltion.

It is thought from the foregoing descrlption that the advantages andnovel features of m invention will be readily apparent.v

I esire it to be understood that I may make changes in the. constructionand in eral parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope ofthe appended claims;

What I claim is 1. A safety device for aeroplanes comprising a pair ofparachutes, a well in the body of the slnp for one parachute, cables forconnecting said parachute with the body of the ship, a cable, connectingthe second parachute with the top of the first parachute, means fornormally holding the second parachute upon the top plane of the ship andmeans actuated by the pilot for releasing the second parachute so thatit can pull the first parachute from the well.

2. A safety device for aeroplanes comprising a large parachute connectedwith the body of the ship, a well in said body for receiving theparachute, a small parachute connected with .the top of the firstparachute, means for holding the small parachute in folded position uponone of the planes of the ship, such means including a spring actuatedmember for throwing the small parachute upwardly and means actuated bythe operator for releasing the holding means.

3. A safety device for aeroplanes comprising a large parachute connectedwith the body of the plane, a small parachute connected with the largeparachute, a lever having a. forked end for engaging the smallparachute, spring means for holding said lever in raised position, ahooked member engaging the lever for holding the same in loweredposition, a latch member for the hook member, a cable for permitting thelatch member to be released by the operator and manually operated meansfor lowering the lever so that it can be engaged by the hooked member.

In testimony. whereof I afiix my signa-- ture.

